# Bury and Radcliffe (UK Parliament constituency)

Bury and Radcliffe was a parliamentary constituency centred on the towns of Bury and Radcliffe in North West England. It returned one Member of Parliament (MP) to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It was a Conservative seat until the 1964 General Election when Labour won it for the first time.
The constituency was created for the 1950 general election, and abolished for the 1983 general election, when it was split into two new constituencies – Bury North and Bury South.

## Boundaries

The County Borough of Bury, the Borough of Radcliffe, and the Urban District of Tottington.

## Members of Parliament

| Election | Election | Member | Party |
| | 1950 | Walter Fletcher | Conservative |
| | 1955 | John Bidgood | Conservative |
| | 1964 | David Ensor | Labour |
| | 1970 | Michael Fidler | Conservative |
| | Oct 1974 | Frank White | Labour |
| 1983 | 1983 | constituency abolished: see Bury North & Bury South | constituency abolished: see Bury North & Bury South |

## Election results
### Elections in the 1950s

General election 1950: Bury and Radcliffe :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Walter Fletcher | 26,485 | 45.8 | |
| | Labour | John Owen | 25,705 | 44.4 | |
| | Liberal | Colin Hindley | 5,662 | 9.8 | |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 780 | 1.4 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 57,852 | 87.0 | |
| | Conservative win (new seat) | Conservative win (new seat) | Conservative win (new seat) | Conservative win (new seat) | Conservative win (new seat) |
General election 1951: Bury and Radcliffe :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Walter Fletcher | 29,949 | 51.6 | +5.8 |
| | Labour | Lewis Wright | 28,058 | 48.4 | +4.0 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 1,891 | 3.2 | +1.8 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 58,007 | 86.5 | −0.5 |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | +0.7 | |
General election 1955: Bury and Radcliffe :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | John Bidgood | 28,080 | 53.6 | +2.0 |
| | Labour | Thomas Brennan | 24,331 | 46.4 | −2.0 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 3,749 | 7.2 | +4.0 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 52,411 | 80.2 | −6.3 |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | +2.0 | |
General election 1959: Bury and Radcliffe :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | John Bidgood | 28,623 | 53.7 | +0.1 |
| | Labour | Robert Patrick Walsh | 24,715 | 46.3 | −0.1 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 3,908 | 7.4 | +0.2 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 53,338 | 82.2 | +2.0 |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | +0.1 | |

### Elections in the 1960s

General election 1964: Bury and Radcliffe :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | David Ensor | 23,865 | 44.1 | −2.2 |
| | Conservative | John Bidgood | 22,639 | 41.9 | −11.8 |
| | Liberal | Charles L. Scholes | 7,589 | 14.0 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 1,226 | 2.2 | N/A |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 54,093 | 82.3 | +0.1 |
| | Labour gain from Conservative | Labour gain from Conservative | Swing | +4.8 | |
General election 1966: Bury and Radcliffe :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | David Ensor | 26,769 | 49.8 | +5.7 |
| | Conservative | John Bidgood | 22,298 | 41.5 | −0.4 |
| | Liberal | Charles L. Scholes | 4,694 | 8.7 | −5.3 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 4,471 | 8.3 | +6.1 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 53,761 | 81.3 | −1.0 |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | +3.1 | |

### Elections in the 1970s

General election 1970: Bury and Radcliffe :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Michael Fidler | 29,796 | 52.8 | +11.3 |
| | Labour | Dennis V. Hunt | 26,592 | 47.2 | −2.6 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 3,204 | 5.6 | N/A |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 56,388 | 75.6 | −5.7 |
| | Conservative gain from Labour | Conservative gain from Labour | Swing | +7.0 | |
General election February 1974: Bury and Radcliffe :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Michael Fidler | 31,113 | 50.3 | −2.5 |
| | Labour | Frank White | 30,768 | 49.7 | +2.5 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 345 | 0.6 | −5.0 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 61,881 | 80.2 | +4.6 |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | −2.5 | |
General election October 1974: Bury and Radcliffe :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Frank White | 26,430 | 42.0 | −7.7 |
| | Conservative | Michael Fidler | 25,988 | 41.3 | −9.0 |
| | Liberal | A. Benson | 10,463 | 16.6 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 442 | 0.7 | N/A |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 62,891 | 80.8 | +0.6 |
| | Labour gain from Conservative | Labour gain from Conservative | Swing | +0.7 | |
General election 1979: Bury and Radcliffe :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Frank White | 29,194 | 45.3 | +3.3 |
| | Conservative | Peter J. Le Bosquet | 29,156 | 45.2 | +3.9 |
| | Liberal | S. Vickers | 5,711 | 8.9 | −7.7 |
| | National Front | J.M. Bridge | 414 | 0.6 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 38 | 0.1 | −0.6 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 64,475 | 82.6 | +1.8 |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | −0.3 | |